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Beaton and McLean to ref Scottish Cup semis

FIFA referees John Beaton and Steven McLean will take charge of this weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park.

Second job: Beaton is also a communications officer at the University of Strathclyde (Picture from BT Sport)

REFEREES John Beaton and Steven McLean have been selected to officiate this weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park.

Beaton will be in charge of Saturday’s showdown between Championship play-off contenders Hibernian and Falkirk.

McLean will oversee the all-Premiership tie on Sunday as Inverness Caley Thistle face Celtic for the second game in a row.

Both matches will kick off at 12:15pm and be screened live on Sky Sports with the winners set to meet each other in the final on Saturday 30 May.

Beaton oversaw the Ramsdens Cup Final between Livingston and Alloa earlier this month – the first major final of his 14-year officiating career – and took charge of his first Dundee derby last week in the Premiership at Dens Park.

The Lanarkshire whistler was the fourth official the last time Hibs and Falkirk met in the Scottish Cup semis two years ago but ended up refereeing the extra-time period after Iain Brines came off injured.

The 34-year-old has overseen 29 games in all competitions so far this term including three involving Hibs and two encounters with Falkirk.

He will be assisted by linesmen Stuart Stevenson and Alasdair Ross while the fourth official will be the experienced Crawford Allan.

Notable improvement: McLean’s talkative but heavy handed approach has propelled him up the pecking order among Scotland’s top referees (Picture from BBC Scotland)

It will be McLean’s third trip to the national stadium having taken charge of two League Cup semi-finals including Dundee United’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen back in February.

The 34-year-old – who also handled last season’s League Cup Final between the Dons and Inverness at Celtic Park – is gradually rising in prominence on both the domestic and international scene.

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